Ball (association football)

A football, soccer ball, or association football ball is the ball used in the sport of association football. The name of the ball varies according to whether the sport is called "football", "soccer", or "association football". The ball's spherical shape, as well as its size, weight, and material composition, are specified by Law 2 of the Laws of the Game maintained by the International Football Association Board. Additional, more stringent, standards are specified by FIFA and subordinate governing bodies for the balls used in the competitions they sanction.

Early footballs began as animal bladders or stomachs that would easily fall apart if kicked too much. Improvements became possible in the 19th century with the introduction of rubber and discoveries of Vulcanization by Charles Goodyear. The modern 32-panel ball design was developed in 1962 by Eigil Nielsen, and technological research continues today to develop footballs with improved performance.

History

In 1863, the first specifications for footballs were laid down by the Football Association. Previous to this, footballs were made out of inflated leather, with later leather coverings to help footballs maintain their shapes. In 1872 the specifications were revised, and these rules have been left essentially unchanged as defined by the International Football Association Board. Differences in footballs created since this rule came into effect have been to do with the material used in their creation.

Of the 45 nationalFIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) affiliates in which English is an official or primary language, 43 use football in their organisations' official names (Canada and the United States use soccer). Soccer is the prevailing term for association football in the U.S. and Canada, where other codes of football are dominant. In 2005, Australia's association football governing body changed its name from soccer to football to align with the general international usage of the term. In 2006, New Zealand decided to follow suit.

Replay (Crosby, Stills & Nash album)

Replay is the sixth album by Crosby, Stills & Nash and their second retrospective, appearing in 1980 on the Atlantic Records label. It contains no material with Neil Young, but does from CSN solo projects. It peaked at #122 on the Billboard 200, their first album not to chart in the top ten, and is currently out of print.

Background

In 1980, Stephen Stills invited Graham Nash to accompany him on a tour of Europe, both subsequently deciding to record songs together in this unexplored permutation of CSNY. The label, however, wanted more CSN product, and with the pair still in process, released this package for the Christmas sales season. The pair continued to work in the studio together, but again Atlantic Records insisted on the inclusion of David Crosby as the CSN brand increased sales potential greatly, which would result in their next album, Daylight Again. Apparently given his minimal number of writing credits and therefore low royalties, Crosby had no hand in the selection for Replay, dismissing the album as "an obvious money trip, nothing more."